Biography

Chair, Department of Psychology (7/12 to present)As part of the new school of Liberal Arts and Sciences, provides administrative oversight to unit with Graduate and undergraduate programs in Psychology and the Sociology minor. Work in collaboration with the Director of Graduate Programs in Psychology.

Chair, Division of Social Sciences (7/05-6/12)Roberts Wesleyan College

Administrative oversight for College academic unit housing Graduate programs in Psychology and Undergraduate programs in Criminal Justice, Psychology, & Sociology. Facilitate the work of the Director of Graduate Programs in Psychology & the Director of Criminal Justice & Sociology Programs. Also provide administrative oversight of RWC Counseling Center in collaboration with the Division of Social Work.

Provided oversight to the development of the institutional self-study design. Facilitated and coordinated the work of the Steering Committee and eight self-study subcommittees in preparation for accreditation visit in Spring 2006.

Responsible for coordinating undergraduate communication, recruitment, and advisement for the Psychology Department. Also responsible for monitoring course enrollment trends, new course development, and outcome assessment for undergraduate psychology.

Assistant Dean for Institutional Research (9/89 - 7/92) Grove City College

Coordinated college's ongoing program of evaluative assessment, including general education outcomes assessment (ETS' CLEP tests), competency in major area of study (ETS' Major Field Achievement Tests), and Cultural Literacy (Riverside's Cultural Literacy Test, Grove City College's Test). Also responsible for interpreting and cataloging evaluative data obtained by other campus offices. Efforts culminated in an annual report which provided formal data analysis and interpretation with value-added studies.

Consultant to the Office of Student Affairs (9/89 - 7/92)Grove City College

Provided psychological services on an as-needed basis to screen students for formal counseling referrals or to assist in crisis intervention. Seminars on stress management.

Counseling/Psychotherapy: Director of Counseling Services. Provided comprehensive clinical services including crisis intervention, diagnostic intake, individual therapy, and couples counseling. Developed and implemented record-keeping system for the college's counseling service. Served as a consultant to campus health service, faculty, and staff. Member of AIDS Task Force.

Psychoeducational Programming/Outreach: Developed and presented a variety of seminars and programs for the college and affiliated community--e.g., Stress Management, Interpersonal Communication, Fostering Responsibility in Students, Choosing a Career, Assertiveness for the First Job, Understanding Teenagers.

Orientation Services: Responsible for the development, planning, and supervision of the freshman and new student orientation program. Freshman Class Advisor.

Promoted to full professor and tenured as of 7/1/04. Current teaching assignments include: Psychology of Learning and Behavior; First Year Seminar, Field Work Preparation, History of Psychology, and Contemporary Issues in Counseling.

Tenure-track term appointment teaching Abnormal Psychology, Theories of Personality, Introduction to Counseling, History and Systems of Psychology and Introduction to Psychology. Supervisor/Coordinator of Internships, 1998-1999.

Taught Research Techniques (methodology and statistics) to graduate students in master's programs during Summer sessions 1993, 1994. Also provided clinical supervision to graduate students in counseling practica (Spring and Fall 1993).

Concurrent with position as Assistant Dean for Institutional Research. Full-time teaching load of 24 semester hours per year. Courses included: Abnormal Psychology, Psychology of the Exceptional Child, Principles and Methods of Counseling, Group Theory, Psychology of Personality, Business and Industrial Psychology, General (introductory) Psychology, Clinical and Community Psychology (Seminar on Professional and Ethical Issues). Adjunct status 9/92-5/93, Quarter-time.

Concurrent with position as Assistant Dean for Counseling Services. Responsible for teaching one undergraduate course per semester. Courses included: Counseling Theory and Practice, History of Psychology, Personality Theory, Psychological Testing. Some supervision of upperclassmen taking Advanced Counseling. Member of Task Force to Explore Graduate Education. Assisted in preliminary curriculum planning for a graduate program in psychology. Provided occasional statistical consultation to faculty members engaged in research.

Eight-week Career Choice Class for undergraduate students seeking assistance in career decision making and planning. Lectures, group interpretation of vocational assessment instruments, and training/supervision of paraprofessional structured group leaders.

Instructor in Psychology (1/85 - 5/85)Roberts Wesleyan College

One semester temporary appointment. Responsible for teaching 12 semester hours of undergraduate psychology including two lecture sections of General (introductory) Psychology, History of Psychology, and Experimental Psychology

Direct Teaching: Techniques in Counseling. Trained graduate students in basic counseling skills requisite for their first practicum placement. Supervised audio-taped interviews with volunteer clients. Led small group role-play exercises.

Counseling/Psychotherapy: Provided full range of clinical services in a comprehensive counseling center, including crisis intervention, diagnostic intake, and individual therapy involving both long-term and time-limited models. Co-led two therapy groups including one designated for adult children of alcoholics. Supervised practicum trainees.

Career Development and Outreach Services: Co-instructor for Career Choice Class. Leader for Career Decision Making Groups utilizing a computerized career guidance system (DISCOVER). Assisted in training Career Center paraprofessionals. Developed and presented outreach programs for residence halls and student organizations, including a series for students at high risk for attrition.

Pecnik, J.A., & Epperson, D.L. (1987, August). Expectations and preferences for Christian and traditional counseling. Paper presented at the 95th convention of the American Psychological Association, New York City, NY. Paper based on doctoral dissertation.

Working at Roberts Wesleyan College is like coming home for me! I’ve been connected to Roberts for over 30 years…. As an undergraduate student in the late 70’s, I fell in love with the discipline of psychology, largely as a result of two very dedicated psychology professors who helped me to see that psychology and my Christian faith had much in common. I left Roberts to pursue a doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology at Iowa State University, where I was fortunate enough to do my research in the area of Christian Counseling. During my graduate training, I returned to Roberts to teach for a semester while one of my former professors, Dr. Bassett, took a sabbatical leave. That time back at Roberts only confirmed my love for the classroom!

After completing my doctorate in 1986, I returned again to Roberts to assume the position of Assistant Dean for Counseling Services. I wore a number of hats—College Counselor, Director of New Student Orientation, Institutional Research, and Assistant Professor of Psychology. During those three years, I discovered a number of things about myself—most importantly that my love of teaching superseded anything else I was doing. Since there were no full-time teaching opportunities available at Roberts, I left to take a teaching position at Grove City College.

Grove City provided me with 3 years of full-time teaching, being responsible for classes like General Psychology, Introductory Counseling, Human Exceptionality, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Personality Theory, and Clinical/Community Psychology. I loved being in the classroom. However, I also felt that God was calling me to more. During my third year at Grove City, I discovered God’s help-mate for my life—Nelson Grimm. Nelson was my hometown pastor, a widower with 3 boys (ages 3-12). Eighteen months after we met, I married my “family” and moved back to New York.

I spent a couple of years mostly being “Mom” and doing some adjunct work in the Buffalo area (even working some for Houghton College!). When my youngest son entered school, SUNY College at Fredonia offered me part-time work, which eventually turned into a tenure track position. While I enjoyed my work at Fredonia—something was missing. It’s hard to teach when you can’t integrate your faith! I felt like I was teaching with one hand tied behind my back. While praying for God to open new doors, my husband was offered a position at Northeastern Seminary on the Roberts Wesleyan College campus. Since Roberts was hoping to develop masters’ programs in psychology, they found a way to hire me, too. The rest is history!

I have been back at Roberts now since 1999. In 2003, I was named Director of the Undergraduate Psychology Program, and in 2005, I became Chair of the new Division of Social Sciences. 2011-2012 I served as the Transitional Dean for the new School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Roberts and am now chairing the new Department of Psychology. Roberts is an exciting place to study psychology. We have a wonderful faculty of dedicated Christian psychologists who work diligently to integrate their faith into their teaching.

My husband and I live in Byron, New York—out on the prairie. We have a small 5-acre hobby farm, where I enjoy gardening and making preserves. My spouse cares for a variety of livestock, and makes sure the fruit crop is ample for my preserves. We welcome student visitors to our home for movie-nights, bonfires, and cider-making in the fall! Our sons are grown now. Matt, our oldest, lives with his wife, Sarah, in Kentucky. Matt is a graduate of Asbury College and works as a videographer for WKET in Lexington. Sarah is a physician’s assistant in an Internal Medicine practice in Lexington. Sarah and Matt have two daughters, Hannah, a beautiful little redhead who at 2 ½ already shows signs of enjoying our farm, and Clara Louise, an equally beautiful little brunette who just joined us in August 2012. Our second son, Andy, graduated from Roberts with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and completed his MSW at the University of Buffalo. He and his wife, Lyndsay, live in Santa Barbara, California, where he is a social worker with homeless youth. Lyndsay, a graduate of the Roberts’ psychology program, is a Resident Director at Westmont College, having completed her master’s in Higher Education. Chris, our youngest, graduated from the Criminal Justice program at Roberts in 2009 and has been working in law enforcement in the Rochester area. This summer we hosted an outdoor wedding at the farm for Chris and Lauren, with guests sitting on quilt covered straw bales during the ceremony. Lauren, who earned her MSW at Roberts, is completing her third year as RD of Davison Hall at Roberts.